These little guys have a different closure - "the wire flip over" seal and glass lid. Very cute too!

Ball mason jars make up a lot of the jars you see in the market. USA made.

This Ball mason with a light green tone has 4 and F impressed on base16cms tall

A later version of the Ball mason jar shows "genuine sculptured glass" made in the USA on the base and has a handy measure on the side and a lot more embellishment fruit basket.

This lovely large Mason's brand is in a square embossed pattern on front.

it is 21.5cms tall

A shorter Mason's one is 17cms and comes with a metal and "genuine porcelain lined cap".

Now, onto New Zealand made jars, the Agee jar.

This large Agee Queen is18.5cms

The smaller one is 14cms and is complete with the wired clip over glass lidded seal.

This simple Agee jam jar has the fold over lip requiring a paper or plastic seal.

At 13.5cms tall it is useful for lots of storage needs and a nice tidy size for a flower posy vase.

This is the workhorse in preserving kitchens everywhere in New Zealand the Agee Utility jar.

It is 16.5cms and sealing bands can still be purchased but this vintage box is fun to have on display!

Plenty available for your wedding tables or events, makes great hanging or table flower vases!

My favourite jars are these small chunky and solid ones with attitude...the small Agee Special

9.5cms tall

The tall ones are also extra "solid" at 17cms

It was believed that if light was excluded from preserved fruits they would last longer, hence the use of amber brown glass in this Agree Special 17cms.

I love the name of this Dominion jar the "Wide Mouth" also shows wording that is was "Made in the British Empire".

The glass is very bubbled and a lovely light blue tone.

So, is it time to make some picnic table candles, refresh your kitchen storage system and use some of these lovelies for your dry goods, time to review your sewing room and fill some with buttons and cottons to get organised or just add one to your collection of flower vases for those big fresh cottage garden posies!

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Yes, I 'm surrounded by vintage light bulbs which are actually lamps, because they are not all bulb shaped and anyway the boxes say lamps not bulbs! As I unpack a box of these goodies I am so amazed at how beautiful they are...

This is an old Westinghouse projection lamp.

On the black end of this it says "projection base down - 115v 1000 (wattage I assume?) Avg life 10 hours. From I what remember of my early days working in an office, a much shorter life if you don't switch the machine on and off at the right time... remember those yells of "don't switch it off!!"

These lamps come fully protected in a corrugated card but unfortunately no box.

Inside the card were two different cautionary notes - dangerous business this projection stuff.

I don't know exactly what age these lamps are but each one is quite a piece of art, which got my thinking and doing some research and I found all kinds of uses for old lamps some of which I have captured on a pinterest board.

The jewellery items were of special interest to me especially as some of my bulbs are smaller and in multiple numbers, and these are in their original boxes.

Found this necklace for example is so cute! Some people are so creative!

Now there will be those of you who have spotted that the box of bulbs I have in stock must be from a Mazda car.... WRONG!! the word mazda was a trademark of General Electric (GE) from 1909 through to 1945 used for their incandescent light bulbs made in the USA.
And... what is even more interesting is that the word comes from Ahura Mazda whose name means light and wisdom.

One of my projection lamps was made by a company called "Stella" and has such a cool box but I can find little about this company.

Shame really as it by far the coolest lamp in the collection.

I even found a site for people who collect light bulbs, and not a Stella in sight!
http://bulbcollector.com/

The majority of my bulbs are smaller General Electric mazda lamps that didn't seem to have a specified purpose written on the boxes, small, perfectly formed, and here they look like they are glowing on their own - trick photography, or some would say bad photography!

So I had better get busy and put them into my online shop before it gets dark and I can't see what I am doing... ha ha!
Contact me if you are interested in buying any of these lovelies described or check out my online store VintageTreasure.

I have lots in stock for your craft project, collection or even to run your projector!

Oh and yes, a word about today...

there does seem to be a trend to enjoy the "beauty of the bulb" in new designs, a very talented local designer Paul Holstrom has some gorgeous pieces online and in his studio in Greytown.
Very cool!

So, one last thing... just how many vintage treasure dealers does it take to change a light bulb!

Monday, 10 February 2014

I feel a bit strange writing about shaving "stuff". I do buy vintage shaving items and have some in stock but I usually buy them for their quirkiness or great design and not because I love shaving stuff! As I do now have a collection I have added some to my online shop and wanted to feature them here.

For example this red mottled bakelite lidded container is lovely in itself. It has fitted compartments for the three piece razor and the blades.

A gentleman came into the store recently and asked if I had any cut throat razors in stock, I had three different ones and he wanted to buy them all. Well, I had to make a pretty fast decision at that point, as to the chance he was some kind of Jack the Ripper character or a normal bloke who wanted to buy a cut throat razor... or two! It would be so embarrassing if today's sale makes tomorrow's crime headlines!

More recently I had a couple of shaving enthusiasts and so have taken the time to sort through my stock and see what I have.First, are the shaving sticks, I loved these before I knew they were shaving stick holders, I used to keep all kinds of goodies in them. This red bakelite container is made by Erasmic and still has the "stick" in it which at first made me think it must be 60 years old as I expect the container is from the 1940's, but then I found out that Erasmic shaving sticks are still being made. They are no longer available in gorgeous containers though. For those who don't know the shaving stick process it goes like this, thanks to Badger and Blade site http://badgerandblade.com a must visit for all interested in more information.

I cant leave the Colgate instructions without a sample of a Colgate stick, this one is empty but has Colgate written on the lid. Again a very cool mottled red bakelite container.

For those who chose to use soap there was always the mixing bowl to lather up the brush, and this one looks like it can be re-used as an ashtray. Before I bought this Clubman shaving bowl in the original packaging, I had a red "ashtray" and never realised it may have started life as a soap bowl. What do you think?

And of course Colgate had their lidded soap bowls too.

All these items are available from my online shop www.vintagetreasure.co.nz

Some of the items no longer have contents but are great containers in themselves like these Gem and Gillette razor boxes from the 1940's or so in cool deco shaped bakelite.

I have a number of individual double sided safety razors, in various shades of brown, these samples are still in good condition today.

Now onto razor blades... as soon as my husband knew I was writing this he recalled Gillette Blue Blade as one he remembered... but for all the wrong reasons. He remembers it went blunt as soon as it was used once or twice, meaning that hundreds of them were required over a short time. This probably lead to the introduction of what I call the razor blade safe - a little storage box for new blades, with a mailing slot at the back to safely deposit spent blades. This one still have a number of used ones as it is heavy and rattles! Also remember those metal bathroom cabinets with slots for spent blades to be safely stored?

These Smith razor blades have never been opened, lots of them for sale. Great for display or a collection and they probably still work fine!

And last but no least my favourite razor in stock, a one sided safety razor in its own fitted box. Made by Valet and seemingly over engineered based on today's throw away options but what a beauty!

So, for collectors or those with a passing curiosity, there are lots of items to bring back the memories of the good old days of shaving history.... and ooooh yes little bits of torn toilet paper and the styptic pencil!

Contact me if you are looking for something specific or visit my online shop.

Friday, 23 August 2013

Crown
Lynn: Celebration of an Icon

by Valerie Monk

The Author, Valerie Ringer Monk started out collecting Crown Lynn plates and 1970s mugs in second-hand shops. As her collection grew so did her desire to research the Crown Lynn story. In this, her first book, Crown Lynn: A New Zealand Icon, she shares the stories of the products and the people behind them.

Often described as the essential reference for any Crown
Lynn collector or enthusiast this book hasA-Z listings of more than 300 Crown
Lynn products.

Packed with colour photographs of products and
their backstamps to help collectors identify different Crown Lynn designs with interesting and quirky facts about a
huge diversity of Crown Lynn items from decorative figurines, hand-potted
vases and everyday domestic ware.

Crown Lynn Collector's Handbook is her second book dedicated to preserving Crown Lynn's colourful history.

CROWN LYNN COLLECTOR'S HANDBOOKby Valerie Monk

Seasoned Crown Lynn devotees and new
collectors alike will find plenty to assist their endeavours in this
comprehensive guide to New Zealand's iconic pottery range.

A-Z listings of more than 300 Crown
Lynn products include photographs of representative designs as well as their
distinctive backstamps and marks to help collectors correctly identify and
appreciate the origins of a huge diversity of Crown Lynn items produced over
more than 50 years.

Dimensions and dates are given for each entry, and the
items are brought to life with fascinating snippets of Crown Lynn history, making
this indispensable collector's guide an entertaining read.

Valerie Ringer Monk's meticulously researched Crown Lynn Collector's Handbook is the
essential reference for anyone investing in everyday Crown Lynn domestic
products through to figurines, artware and hand-potted pieces. Whether your
preference is for quirky styles or more practical household items, in this
handbook you'll discover new treasures to fossick for in second-hand shops or
online.

Thursday, 22 August 2013

For a little while now I have been contributing to the Martinborough Star our 100% local monthly newspaper.

Just a little piece (not too long, you lucky readers!) each month on something vintage that I like... it's been a lot of fun and so I though I would do a little link here and anyone reading can also link through, have a peek at the Star and see what a great town we have in the Wairarapa.

August edition was "Mottoware".

“Elp yersel...”

The bright simple and fun decoration on “Devonware” is unmistakable.
The exact origin of pieces is hard to determine as the red clay pottery with
thick slip decoration was used throughout Devon and the surrounding counties.
Rustic, countryside inspired and a world away from the elegant china being
produced in the Staffordshire potteries, the brown and cream wares of
Dartmouth, Torbay, Exeter, Torquay, Newton Abbott and Watcombe are very
distinctive.

Probably the most
recognisable and collected is the mottoware, a mainstay of the Torquay pottery.
Early pieces were made, often by hand, from the red clay found in the area and
dipped in a cream slip before being decorated with sayings such as “make hay
while the sun shines”, “Elp yersel” and “still waters run deep”.

The egg cup
shown below says “new laid”.

The words were chosen to elicit a smile, or as a
souvenir from a local destination, and scratched into the drying leathery
material. This technique is known as sgraffito. I like the fact that these are
such personal pieces; you can see the different child like writing styles. The
reverse side of pieces are decorated with naive coloured slip designs of
cockerels, ships, windmills, ladies or the most common a cottage set beside
trees. In fact this style of pottery is often called “Cottageware” or
“Mottoware”

Over time things changed and by the 1950’s much of the red
clay had been used up and the more available whiter clay was substituted. Wares
tended to be cast rather than handmade. This did widen the range and teapots,
toast racks, and bowls with moulded handles were added to previous limited
shapes. The manufacture however didn’t allow for sgraffito handwriting and so
these later items have their mottoes painted on using a brown paint.

Such fun to collect various mottoes and the tone of colours
makes for a lovely display.

About Me

Located at 4 Kansas Street, MARTINBOROUGH in the lovely Wairarapa, this was originally the Post Master's house and is just off the beautiful Martinborough Square. The house is now full of interesting and unusual items from the past, lovely silver, china, and crystal items at great prices.
IT IS WELL WORTH THE TRIP OVER THE HILL FROM WELLINGTON!